Weeks 7 and 8

The weeks are flying by, especially during the busy Christmas season, but for us, it really started to feel like Christmas with the arrival of two packages from our families, both on the same day.

Upon opening them, and realizing what they contained, we REALLY started to feel like Christmas.  Our children and grandchildren had gotten together and made a paper Christmas tree to put on our wall.  Each child, grandchild and great grandchild had hand made an ornament to put on the paper tree.  On the back of each ornament was a favorite scripture verse or thought or witness of the Savior's divinity and mission.  Reading each one took us some time, but what precious time it was.  We will never throw away this tree and these ornaments.  The thought crossed our minds that our children and grand children are the ornaments of our lives.  This is what is meant by "joy and rejoicing in our posterity" as promised in the temple. Here's the result:

We had already put together a small tree which was very nice, but not as deeply meaningful to us as the paper tree made by our families.  The pictures show before, after, and how we made Christmas ornaments out of Lindt chocolate balls.  I also had to make the star out of a candle holder since we couldn't find a small enough star meant as a tree topper.

On November 29th we had to go the the office of French Immigration and Integration (OFII) to get physical checkups and stickers in our passports giving us permission to be in France.  Due to several bureaucratic errors, however, including spelling Janet's last name "Summer" we have to go back again tomorrow (December 10th).  We hope we don't have to wait for a couple of hours again, but we were promised we would have first priority for our 10;30 am appointment.  We'll see!  We found the pictures in the medical waiting area rather interesting.  They all were promoting getting tested for sexually transmitted diseases.  The posters all say "Je suis decider, je fais le test" which means "I've decided to get tested".

We finally had a preparation day free enough to go to Paris.  Fortunately, we managed to go when there were no riots by the "gilets jaunes" or "yellow vests" as they're called.  We had a nice quiet visit to the Notre Dame Cathedral, although we were still surprised at how many tourists there were, probably because of the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S.  We loved the miniature village and manger scene set up in the cathedral.  We enjoyed a nice crepe meal in the Latin Quarter, but headed home early because of the cold rain falling.

Wayne has been busy practicing with and playing piano for the Christmas programs put on by the young sister missionaries at the temple visitor center.  The programs run on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays for the three weeks before Christmas.  It's been hard to find time to practice his piano accompaniment and then get together with the singers.  Janet fell in love with the beautiful creche and Christmas tree in the visitor center.  We also finally got to see the finished manger scene on the temple grounds.

We, like you, have been following news about the riots in Paris and other parts of France, but we live in a small, tranquil, out of the way community, Le Chesnay.  We have friends who live and work in Paris, and we pray for their safety.  Likewise, we pray daily for your safety and for the blessings of this season to be upon you.  May your Christmas be filled with the love and peace that Christ's life and atonement brings to those who earnestly strive to follow Him by living His teachings.